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Statement of Heydar Aliyev, Acting President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet - Baku,July2, 1993

On June 24, 1993, with the decision of the parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan the powers of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan were laid on the chairman of the parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

On behalf of the Republic of Azerbaijan I declare that not any changes will take place in the foreign and internal policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. I declare that Azerbaijan will continue pursuing the road democracy, pluralism and free market economy. Azerbaijan will observe the human rights and the international legal norms, the democratic reforms, which have begun in the republic, will be continued more widely and speedily. The economic cooperation, which began with the world countries, will be continued on equal and mutually beneficial principles. The obligations undertaken by Azerbaijan in connection with the work performed by the foreign companies with the intention of signing contracts will be fulfilled within the civil norms. With the stabilization of the socio-political situation in the country there will emerge conditions for being engaged in those issues more actively.

As a result of undertaken measures the threat of the civil war, which is very dangerous for our people, has been prevented and the internal political tension in the country has subsided. But the war waged by Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan and the recent military attacks of the Armenians in the co-border districts influences on the internal political climate in some degree.

Making use of the chance of the political crisis in the country, of the splint in the Military Forces because of it, lack of due control on them by the state, Armenia has begun new attacks to the Azerbaijani territories.

Since the 12th of June the military forces of Armenia have begun attacks in the direction of the districts of Aghdam and Aghdara, have captures the center of the district of Aghdara and our several villages. The district of Gadabey, which is beyond the Karabakh region, has been subjected to intensive military attacks. As a result of the undertaken defense measures those attacks have been stopped, two or three days ago the fire was stopped in some degree. But on the 1st of July the military forces of Armenia attacked another region of Azerbaijan – the districts of Fuzuli and Jabrail. As a result some of our villages have been captured, some of them have been savagely set on fire, there are murdered among the civilians. Thousands of new internally displaced persons and refuges have been added to the existing number which is over 500 thousand.

Despite the peaceful initiatives of Russia and Turkey for ending the conflict, the Resolution of the Security Council of the United Nation No 822), in general, when there appeared hopes for putting an end to this bloody fight, these aggressive actions of Armenia have aggravated the situation. I suppose that the world public and all the states must denounce this aggression. I want to declare on behalf of the Republic of Azerbaijan once more that we support and share all the efforts and decisions adopted within the frames of the Minsk Group of CSCE on the initiative of the United States of America, Russia and Turkey. The Republic of Azerbaijan welcomes the peaceful attempts headed by the chairman of the Minsk Group of CSCE Mr. M. Raffaelli; we guarantee to create all conditions for their implementation. We hope that that the visit of Mr. Raffaelli to the region on the 5th of June will give an incentive to the materialization of the initiatives of the “Ninths”.

Supporting the peaceful solution of the conflict, the Azerbaijani government calls the heads of the states of the world, the Organization of the United Nations, the Convention on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) and other international organizations to denounce the aggression resolutely, to take decisive and immediate measures for harnessing the aggressor. We also call the world states and the international organizations to render urgent and necessary humanitarian assistance to the Republic of Azerbaijan in this grave situation.